Houser, Winona S., George, Daniel R., Chinchilli, Vernon M.

Objectives: To evaluate whether involvement in TimeSlips, a creative storytelling program, reduced mood and behavioral symptoms as well as psychotropic medication use in persons with dementia.; Methods: A cluster-randomized pilot study compared two discrete dementia care units in one nursing home. The control cohort (N = 10) received standard-of-care activity programming, and the intervention cohort (N = […]

George, Daniel R., Singer, Mendel E.

Objectives: To evaluate whether a structured intergenerational volunteering intervention would enhance quality of life (QOL) for persons with mild to moderate dementia.; Methods: Fifteen participants were randomized into intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in hour-long structured volunteer sessions with a kindergarten class and an older elementary class in alternating weeks during a […]

Freund-Levi, Yvonne, Jedenius, Erik, Tysen-Bäckström, Ann Christine, Lärksäter, Marie, Wahlund, Lars-Olof, Eriksdotter, Maria

Objective: To examine the effects of galantamine and risperidone on neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia (NPSD) and global function.; Methods: Using a randomized, controlled and open-blind, one-center trial at an in- and outpatient clinic at a university hospital, we studied 100 adults with probable dementia and NPSD. Participants received galantamine (N = 50, target dose 24 mg) […]

Flynn Longmire, Crystal V., Drye, Lea T., Frangakis, Constantine E., Martin, Barbara K., Meinert, Curtis L., Mintzer, Jacobo E., Munro, Cynthia A., Porsteinsson, Anton P., Rabins, Peter V., Rosenberg, Paul B., Schneider, Lon S., Weintraub, Daniel, Lyketsos, Constantine G.

Objective: We wanted to assess if sertraline treatment (versus placebo) or remission of depression at 12 weeks (versus nonremission) in Alzheimer patients is associated with improved caregiver well being.; Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the efficacy and safety of sertraline for the treatment of depression in individuals with Alzheimer disease […]

Czaja, Sara J., Loewenstein, David, Schulz, Richard, Nair, Sankaran N., Perdomo, Dolores

Background/objectives: Available services and intervention programs for dementia caregivers are often underutilized because of issues such as cost, logistics, lack of knowledge about available services, or insufficient support from others. Information technologies offer the potential of removing these barriers and facilitating the ability of caregivers to access needed support. This project evaluated the feasibility and […]

Cheng, Sheung-Tak, Chow, Pizza K., Song, You-Qiang, Yu, Edwin C.S., Chan, Alfred C.M., Lee, Tatia M.C., Lam, John H.M.

Objectives: To examine the effects of cognitive stimulation (mahjong) and physical exercise (tai chi [TC]) on cognitive performance in persons with dementia.; Design: Cluster-randomized open-label controlled design.; Setting: Nursing homes.; Participants: One hundred ten residents, most of whom were cholinesterase-inhibitor naive. Inclusion criteria were Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) = 10-24 and suffering from at least very mild […]

Brodaty, Henry, Mittelman, Mary, Gibson, Louisa, Seeher, Katrin, Burns, Alistair

Objective: Does psychosocial intervention for caregivers whose spouses with Alzheimer disease (AD) are taking donepezil delay nursing home (NH) placement or death of patients?; Design: Randomized controlled trial with 2 years of active treatment and up to 8.5 years of follow-up (mean: 5.4 years, SD: 2.4).; Setting: Outpatients of research clinics in Australia, the United […]